Gissa Vem (Strands of Pearls) Painting

Pernilla Iggstrom’s paintings are the result of a process of investigation into her personal cultural heritage – a journey which explores the effect on her own identity of being born into one culture, then subsequently being adopted into another very different one thousands of miles away. Mainly using source materials derived from her personal archive of family albums and her own photos of the environment, she explores both actual and imagined places (through the nature/nurture concept) where the relationships between the past and the present, the interior and the exterior, and the physical and the psychological are key. Although Pernilla’s starting point is often collage, the painting process allows her to expand the potential of her ideas – reducing some of the detailed imagery to something more universally accessible. Pernilla uses a variety of methods and styles to express herself. Despite this, her work has a common thread running through as it questions an individual’s personal strength and worth in today’s multicultural society. While the figurative elements contain narratives, the abstraction in her paintings explores the emotional and psychological side of an event. Pernilla’s personal story is of course core as it motivates her investigations into notions of identity in the first place, but there are also far reaching aspects to what she is saying that she wants to address. She hopes that her art will inspire the viewer to reflect on his or her own cultural heritage, increase an interest and awareness about him or herself and others and thereby break down stereotypical impressions and pre-conceived ideas. Some of her influences are Gerhard Richter, Robert Rauschenberg, Joan Mirò, Candice Breitz, John Kørner, Joseba Eskubi, the Rinpa school of Japan and nature.